According to the senator, the lines “Aming ligaya na pag may mang-aapi, ang mamatay ng dahil sa ‘yo” sounded defeatist. He declared that it should be changed to “Ang ipaglaban ang kalayaan mo.”

Filipinos were quick to bash his proposal, stating that there are other pressing matters in the country that needed more attention.

Tito Sotto wants to change the lyrics of the national anthem because he believes it is "defeatist". He concerns himself with this illusion while finding nothing defeatist in the government's actions on West Philippines Sea.

Robert Thompson, a professor of television and popular culture at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, noted that an entertainer and a politician wields similar traits in terms of harnessing the public’s attention.

“With 24-hour news channels, a political leader has to look good, appeal to an audience, talk to the cameras, present a persona — in many respects it’s a relatively similar set of skills required of an actor,” he shared.

Thompson added that entertainers have more “head start” with their potential rivals because they have already cultivated a following compared to non-celebrity aspiring public officials.

“They (entertainers) have instant brand name recognition. They are starting way ahead of someone working up to name recognition — which needs a good amount of time and money,” he added.

Arvind Rajagopal, a professor of media studies at New York University, cited that people tend to resort to charisma in choosing their leaders, hence the tendency to vote for entertainers.

“In cases where there is an uncertain outcome, where there is no guarantee of a good leader, we can see a substantive logic in seeking out a charismatic leader,” he observed.